I would like to think in a way that investment in general, and the real estate investment, start with a solid economic reason - "Why do you Invest, where you invested".To elaborate on below - Vegas is a great example where no real economic driver exists and when you invest there, you should be aware that is a highly volatile market (side note: i both 2 properties there in 2011 and 2012 and i sold both this year) and you should pay an extra attention and be prepare to reposition capital.It's clear, if you invest in Vegas or Orlando (just 2x entertainment cities) you will expect ups and downs and you need to position yourself with extra reserves and extra caution if you are planning to stay in these market for long term. 

Give them enough pressure, heat, or attention and the charming melts right off and your left with the rotten core.

They can get a better deal for there better care etc etc..

this means that these owners are under much less pressure to sell, and so they don't really care that their price won't let the property be a good rental. 

Some gurus tell practicioners of sub-to to hide transaction from the lender by saying the lender doesn't care as long as the payments are being made.

Start by building a solid team, analyzing deals carefully, and making your first purchase to test and refine your strategy.Good luck!

Review them carefully. 

Some investors think that just because they are section 8 they don’t care where they live, they just want a roof over their head.  

My CPA takes care of the 1098s.  

There seems to be a lack of due diligence before properties are listed, and when questioned about the discrepancies between advertised and actual returns, the responsibility is often shifted to third parties.While it is true that there are properties within their portfolio that do cash flow, finding these requires careful due diligence on the part of the investor—just like any investment.